Author: EmmaWood

Hello Members,

Welcome to our new members!  I wanted to start off by saying thank you to our committee chairs for all their work over the past year, and to all our members who are volunteering their time by serving on the LLNE committees. 

I’d like to give a special thank you to Michael VanderHeijden, who has rotated off the board after serving as immediate past-president.  Michael also served as chair to the Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee and as a member of the Bylaws Committee.  Another special thank you to Anna Lawless-Collins, who has served as president over the past year; because of Anna’s time as president we now have a strategic plan and have implemented a mission statement and goals.

I’d like to welcome Nicholas Mignanelli to the Education Committee this year, who will be serving with Jessica Panella.  Be on the lookout for emails about the Fall meeting coming to your inbox soon. Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to welcome Maureen Quinlan as Vice President/President-Elect!  I look forward to working with Marueen over the course of this year.

As I have taken time to reflect on my own time within LLNE, I’ll never forget the warm and kind welcome I received as a new member.  It was a chaotic time for me as I was gearing up for law school finals.  I walked into my first Access to Justice/Service Committee meeting not knowing anyone in the room.  We met at a member’s home (whom I also did not personally know).  The librarians I met that day welcomed me in a way I hadn’t experienced before.  I know I had found my place.

I hope that this next year brings you joyful reflection on the great work we are doing in LLNE to support each other and our communities.  Please consider volunteering for a committee or leadership role within LLNE. 

Be well,

Sara

LLNE’s 2022-2023 year wrapped up with a great Spring meeting on the NextGen Bar exam. New England School of Law Boston put on an excellent, informative program that raised money for three different scholarship funds to help students studying for the bar. 

The LLNE Strategic Planning committee is off and running to define our goals and objectives for the next few years. We will have a mission statement and goals defined in time for Sara’s year as president to begin. The Ethical Principles committee is also getting started and will implement the ethical principles LLNE agreed to last year. The Bylaws committee wrapped up its work this year and the updated bylaws were officially adopted at the Spring meeting. 

All the LLNE committees had a wonderful year; look for the upcoming Annual Report to summarize committee activities for the year. Thank you all for another productive year in LLNE! 

Anna Lawless Collins, BU Law, outgoing LLNE President

Sara Monalea McMahon, Hampshire Law Library, incoming LLNE President

Good afternoon LLNE! We want to congratulate Boston College Law Library and Western New England School of Law Library for winning the Excellence in Community Engagement Award from AALL! See the information below:

EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AWARD 

Boston College Law Library

Newton Centre, Massachusetts

Social Media: A Method to Increase Engagement for Library Services

AND

Western New England University School of Law Library

Springfield, Massachusetts

Introduction to Law Collaboration with Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School

Way to represent LLNE!

Welcome to a new year! As we begin this time of renewal, I’ve been thinking about the direction in which LLNE is headed. The executive board recently held a strategic planning retreat, and many of you participated in a survey about where LLNE currently is and where we should go over the next five years. You identified several strengths we have, like our people, that we’re innovative, and our programming. You also identified some areas of weakness, which the board hopes to address through the goals we set at the retreat. Look for more on those as the strategic plan takes shape.

Speaking of programming, I’m looking forward to the spring meeting on the NextGen bar exam, hosted by New England Law Boston at MCLE on April 14th! I hope to see you there. The NextGen bar exam, with its new focus on legal research, is a real opportunity for LLNE and its membership to work together on what students and new attorneys need to know.

The future of LLNE is bright, and that’s because of all of you, the LLNE membership. As we consider the direction in which we need to move, I am grateful that all of you are part of this strong, innovative organization.

Anna Lawless-Collins, LLNE President

All LLNE Members are invited to this fun social event! We have partnered with the Dallas Association of Law Libraries (DALL) for an evening of trivia to be held over Zoom. Mark your calendar, and we hope to see you there!

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.” – Herman Melville

The Service Committee has been busy connecting LLNE/ABLL members with opportunities to help others. For the Fall 2022 Service Project, we solicited monetary support for the Whaling Museum and we sponsored a book drive to support Wash & Read, an initiative of United Way of Greater New Bedford’s Women United, which distributes books to local laundromats. Donations to the Whaling Museum helped the museum provide free programming, such as AHA! NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM. We had great participation in the book drive, with members donating 36 books. We received a lovely thank you card from Paula Montgomery, Women United Director.

Our next service opportunity is in conjunction with the upcoming Virtual Trivia Night in January. One reason that we are sponsoring Action For Boston Community Development is because LLNE/ABLL members can choose to support a specific program, such as fuel assistance, food pantries & programs, winter fund, or have their donation applied where it is most needed. More details to follow soon.

Looking ahead to the Spring Service Project, we want to focus on a service activity that members can participate in. John, Stephanie, and I would love to have some company on the Service Committee! If you have some ideas or just love helping others (and what librarian doesn’t?) consider joining our awesome committee.

On September 30, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order providing for reestablishment of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH).  The Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will co-lead the reinstituted PCAH and will provide advice to the President on policy goals, charitable and private sector engagement and other matters to improve federal support and funding for library and museum services, the arts, and the humanities. “This joint initiative acknowledges the essential role of . . . library services in our society and democracy including civic life, economic opportunity and development, health and wellness, education, equity, climate, and social cohesion. In the spirit of the order, IMLS will be developing partnerships with other federal agencies to advance opportunities to utilize the arts, humanities, museums, and libraries to connect communities across the country with important information and resources.” More information can be found at: President Biden Issues Executive Order Reestablishing President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH); IMLS Director to Co-Lead Committee (Oct. 3, 2022)

The UELMA in Massachusetts Subcommittee continues to advocate for passage of this legislation, and thanks all Massachusetts LLNE members who reached out to their legislators this past year to request support H.1597 – An Act Relative to the Uniform Electronic Material Act.  At latest report, H.1597 accompanied a study order from the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, and was referred to the Committee on Joint Rules.  If you are interested in working with us on UELMA advocacy, please let us know.

There is little to report at this point in the legislative sessions of our New England states, and we are continuing to monitor developments of interest to concerned law librarians.  If you become aware of legislative or policy developments of interest to law librarians, please contact Catherine or Emilie, GRC Co-chairs, who monitor Massachusetts and Rhode Island respectively, or your GRC state representatives/committee members:  Mary Tartaglia in Connecticut; Maureen Quinlan in Maine; Sue Zago in New Hampshire; and Jane Woldow in Vermont.  We will report any relevant information to the membership. 

Regular updates from the GRC and discussion posts appear on the AALL Advocates community list (it’s easy to sign up for the list if you’re not already receiving the emails.  Just click on “Participate” at the top of the page, select “AALL Advocates” and click “Join”). 

Best,

Catherine Biondo and Emilie Benoit, LLNE GRC Co-Chairs

The LLNE Executive Board has approved the formation of an ad hoc committee to implement the ethical principles approved by the Board and LLNE. The committee’s charge is as follows:

LLNE has approved a Statement of Ethical Principles. Recognizing that principles need actionable tools to become more than an empty statement, this ad hoc committee is charged with developing ways to put LLNE’s ethical principles into practice. The committee shall determine the appropriate format for their work in coordination with the LLNE Executive Board. The committee shall consist of a chair, or co-chairs, and such additional members as the President shall delegate.

Would you like to volunteer for this committee? There are spots available for one or two more members. Please reach out to LLNE President, Anna Lawless-Collins.